CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Legacy

The hatch opened, and I covered my mouth with my sleeve as a blast of sand stung my skin. I followed Yara down the ramp, covering my eyes from the searing gusts that seemed to want to rip me into pieces. After the wind died, I glanced up at two adobe buildings the same color as the sand. Invisible from the sky, they stretched out, low to the ground. Yara led me to the first one and we stumbled in through a glass doorway. Only after the doors sealed behind me could I breathe again.

A woman with dark curly hair looked up from a gray plastic desk, regarding us like we had just walked in from off the street. “Can I help you?”

Yara ran her fingers through her hair. Sand particles sprinkled onto the dark green carpet. “We’re here to see Doctor Sparks.”

She sipped from an overly large coffee mug. “I’ll buzz him.”

While we waited for the doctor, the hovercraft took off. We really were stranded in the middle of nowhere. All those visions I had had of my family or Maxim running to stop me were put to rest. There was no way any of them could get to me in time to change my mind. That thought made me melancholy but gave me an exhilarating kind of freedom.

A bearded man, framed by scientists in white lab coats, entered the lobby. The scientists gave me a questioning look as I passed, reminding me of the cold eyes in my dream. I shrugged it off and stared back at them with pride.

“Doctor Sparks.” Yara shook his hand and smiled with familiarity. He acknowledged Yara with a nod. “Is this her?” “Yes.” Yara dusted off her shoulders. “Jennifer Streetwater, final member of team Centauri Beta.” “Excellent. You’re right on time.”

The scientists led us into separate rooms. My room looked like a doctor’s office, with strange medical equipment hanging from the walls and a white, sheet-less bed in the center. Panic rose up in my throat. Had I been tricked?

“Remove your civilian clothes and wear this.” Dr. Sparks handed me a black ninja suit like Jax’s and left, along with the rest of the scientists.

Holding the suit to my chest, I thought of Jax, and my racing heart calmed. He wouldn’t trick me into anything. Checking for hidden cameras, I slipped off the tunic Valex and Len had given me. I couldn’t fit it in my backpack, so I’d have to leave it behind. The fabric clumped on the floor and I felt like I’d rejected their goodwill. I hope they forgive me. I also felt as though I was breaking free of a fake persona—Jennifer the future girl. I wasn’t meant for this over-populated, high-rise world.

I stepped into the uniform and zipped the front all the way up to my neck. A starship flying over a green planet was embroidered on the right breast. The symbol of the Timesurfers? I ran my fingers over the rough patterns of the helm against the blackness of deep space. That will be me. It did look pretty cool.

A middle-aged woman with gray hair tied in a tight bun came in. Although she wore the same blank white lab coat as the other scientists, her eyes were warm. “Hello, dear. I’m here to take your vital signs.” She checked my eyes, ears, and blood pressure. All normal things. I was thankful for her gentle nature. Jumpy as I was, anyone else would have made me scream.

She held a beeping device up to my face and a blue light flashed in my eyes. “Let me explain the cryogenic procedure—”

“Don’t.” I blinked away the blue flash of light. “I’ve already been through it once. I don’t need to be reminded again.”

“Okay, dear. You know you need to sign this disclaimer…”

She handed me a screen stating the possible side effects of cryogenic sleep. I couldn’t recall ever signing something like this before, but then again, I was underage last time. My parents probably signed it for me.

I took the plastic pen and squiggled my name over the screen. My signature never looked the way I wanted it to.

“You are aware it’s illegal to freeze anyone deemed healthy, correct?” The nurse gave me a meaningful stare.

I shook my head. “I had no idea. Why?”

“The survival rate is fifty-three percent. It’s not high enough for the government to endorse it. Some see it as suicide, others as a crazy recreational activity—living longer to see what will become of the world. Surfing through time, if you will.”

“So that’s why they picked me. I’ve lived through it before.”

She scanned me with some handheld machine and checked the readings. “That’s one of the reasons. Yes, hon. You have proved to be especially hardy.”

She smiled as if I’d just won a prize in a talent show. Then, in another heartbeat, her face hardened back into a serious frown. “For us to freeze you, we have to tamper with your records, make you look like you’ve been sick.”

She clicked on the screen and handed it back to me. “You’ll need to sign a document stating you’re okay with this.”

Signing a disclosure form seemed superfluous considering they could all be arrested for illegal activities. But if I wanted to be on this mission, I had to follow orders. I glanced at the screen, feeling I was exposing myself to some form of cruel punishment. This is for Thunderbolt and all those animals driven to extinction.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and signed my name. When I handed the screen back to her, I felt I’d already accomplished something. I’d faced my fears.

“Come now. You have a meeting with a lawyer to ensure the survival of your estate and settle any unresolved debts.”

I followed her into a meeting room with a large desk, the plastic made to resemble rich wood. It reminded me of my dad’s. An elderly man with wispy white hair, dressed in a tunic suit, shook my hand. “Nice to meet you, Jennifer. My name is Reddic Halefern, and I’m

here to discuss how you’d like to leave your estate. You have quite an estate to dictate, Ms. Streetwater. Please, have a seat.”

I’d been planning for this ever since I heard Jax’s message saying I was on the team. I’d researched my bank account with the help of C-7. I knew exactly how much was in there. Plopping into a cushy chair, I crossed my legs. This would take some time.

“First of all, I’d like to leave thirty million credits to Maxim Fairweller. Enough to ensure the well-being of his entire family and especially his younger sister, Rainy.”

Reddic Halefern raised an eyebrow and began to type. “Very well.”

“Make sure he can’t refuse the gift. I’d like the following message attached.”

Mr. Halefern glanced at me. “Go ahead.”

I shifted in my seat and the plastic cushion creaked under my butt. I felt weird saying such personal things to this elderly man whom I’d never met, but I had something I had to say. “Tell him, ‘Now you’re free to follow your dreams.’”

He nodded, and it took me a few moments to swallow my raging emotions before I could speak again. In a way, telling Maxim to follow his dreams was a way of letting him go.

I counted on my fingers to make sure I didn’t leave anyone out. “Next, I’d like to leave fifty million credits to my legal guardians, Valex and Len Streetwater, and twenty million to their daughter, Pell.” It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in Pell. She definitely could make it on her own in this competitive high-rise world, but having a little buffer couldn’t hurt.

He continued to type. “It will be done.”

The old man pressed a few keys and looked over the screen. “Anything else?”

“Yes. Martha Maynard needs a new cat.”

Mr. Halefern’s eyebrows rose and he leaned his head to the right, as if he hadn’t heard me correctly.

“We both work for the Timesurfers… If they could replicate a freaking horse and jungle monkeys, you’d think the least they could do for an old lady is a kitten. I’m willing to pay whatever it takes.”

He scratched his chin. “It is an odd request, but doable, yes.”

I sat up, beaming like Santa Claus the day after Christmas. “Good. Make sure she gets the new kitten as soon as possible.”

“The process should take two to three months.”

“Good. Tell her it’s a new friend for Jumbo.”

Mr. Halefern nodded and continued to type.

I considered giving Martha a nicer apartment, but somehow I knew deep down she wouldn’t move. Old people got so stuck in their ways. The least I could do was make sure she’d have enough to live on for the rest of her life. “And give her ten million credits. Tell her to do with it as she sees fit.”

“Consider it done.”

I swiveled in the chair, feeling I could finally do some good in the world.

He wrinkled his hairy gray eyebrows. “What about the rest of your estate?”

“Give all but ten million to the Timesurfers, and have the rest invested for future use.” Who knew? After all, I was planning to come back in another five hundred years to claim it.

“Very well, Ms. Streetwater.”

I stood up, feeling overly sentimental and generous, like Ebenezer Scrooge after the three ghosts came to visit him. “One more thing. Give yourself a million credits.”

“Ms. Streetwater?”

I winked. “It’s a tip. To make sure my wishes are carried out.” Mr. Halefern rose up from his desk and bowed like a butler in a fairy tale. “I will see to it personally.”